The 4 times Jason said I love you and the one time he didn't
by 1oooW0rds
Summary: High School AU!: "Dakota, Reyna said Jason found a rebound for Piper. That girl is clearly not his type." Gwen said, nodding towards Jason. "She's everyone's type." Reyna pointed out. "I don't think so. Jason always had a thing for girls with braids." JEYNA


Disclaimer: I do not own or _Percy Jackson _or _Heroes of Olympus. _They are property of Rick Riordan.

A/N: Tumblr prompt again! But this time it's not anonymous. I would love to thank **I Am Thalia Daughter of Zeus **for a fun prompt. I had a completely different idea but then I read this quote and something just click. Lots of fun to write and I'm glad it's done. Read, review, and favorites guys!

Prompt: Can you pretty please write a Jeyna high school AU? I know you have a lot of prompts, but please consider my request! :)

"I didn't say "I love you" to hear it back. I said it to make sure you knew." – Unknown

The 4 times Jason said I love you and the one time he didn't.

I

"Calm down Jason, I'm nearly done." Reyna ordered as she shoved the boy away from leaning too close to her. Jason sighed and stood up from his futon, pacing his bedroom like a caged panther. He tugged at his golden locks in silent frustration. The sixteen year old girl rolled her eyes, pulling the laptop closer so she could read his essay. They were in Jason's messy room about an hour before the due date which Jason procrastinated on. "You should have finished this earlier."

"I know, I know." Jason muttered as he leaned against his desk. "And I'm sorry. It's just Piper – " He trailed off when Reyna shot him an angry glare. The handsome teen gave her a sheepish smile which she dismissed. Her dark eyes were tired as she tried to focus on the words about Ancient Rome. Jason was lucky Reyna was well-versed in the topic. Her father was a professor at the local university and constantly lectured about the topic to his girls. "Rey, don't be like that." Jason pleaded as he sat besides her, wrapping his arms around her waist and set his chin on her shoulder. "She's my girlfriend."

"And this is school work, Jason." Reyna fired back, pushing her shoulder against his chest. He didn't let go but rather cuddled closer. Used to his touch, Reyna settled against him as she edited his essay. She was always saving him with school work and things in general. Jason was thankful to have such an awesome smart best friend. "Time?" She asked after saving the document. Jason blinked slowly, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, and lifted his head from the comfortable spot on Reyna's shoulder. The digital clock in his room showed fifteen minutes before the midnight due date. "Just in time." She muttered, pushing the laptop towards him. "Looks good, Airhead, just submit it."

"You are a saint." Jason exclaimed as Reyna stood up to stretch. Her tight t-shirt pulled up slightly, revealing a sliver of her tan skin. "I love you." He said without thinking as he uploaded his document. Reyna froze mid-stretch, quickly turning around and gave him a look. Jason's blue eyes widen as he realized what he just said. "In a totally platonic way. Yeah?" The tension left Reyna's body as she sighed and shook her head.

"Gods, you've scared me for a second." Reyna replied, flicking his forehead with a cute familiar smile.

II

"Oh gods, I'm so hungry!" Jason moaned as he collapsed onto the bench beside Gwen. The blonde gave him a half-smile as she continued logging the sprint times for the other soccer players. "I hate death drills." Jason said, after gulping a bottle of water.

"Don't say that or Coach Hedge will make you run more." Gwen warned as she wrote down the next runner's time. Jason eyed the short coach as he shouted encouragement at his teammates. Still watching the man, Jason stretched out his calves and casually reached for his sports bag. "What are you doing?" Gwen whispered, her sharp green eyes missing nothing.

"Texting Reyna." Jason whispered back as he unlocked the screen. A picture of Piper and Jason smiling at the camera greeted him along with ten notifications that she texted him. "She'll bring me something." Jason was confident as he scrolled pass Piper's texts. His long distance girlfriend couldn't help him with his starving hunger. Reyna's contact photo popped up. It was a picture of Reyna laughing so hard her eyes were closed and she was hugging her stomach. A huge bright smile tugged at her lips with her hair falling out of its braid.

**Hey, do you want to be my favoriest person?**

Reyna's reply was quick since Jason knew she was in debate. **No, Piper can keep that title.**

**Aw come on. Do you want to be my favoriest best friend?**

**I thought that was my title already. Favoriest isn't a word.**

**Ha, ha, you smug little smarty-pants.**

**What do you want, Jason? Debate is almost over.**

**Can you bring me food?**

**You little – Arg.**

Jason chuckled at her last reply. He could clearly see Reyna in his head, scowling down at her phone as she tries to tune Octavian out. Despite her icy exterior, Reyna's sarcasm and snarky remarks never fails to make him smile. They've been friends since childhood, inseparable until Jason meet his absent father last year and relocated for a year without telling her or anyone. Jason frowned at the memory. Even though he met Piper and made awesome friends, he nearly lost Reyna. It was a messy event, almost ruining their friendship.

**Please, Rey.**

"Grace! What are you doing?" Jason jumped at Coach Hedge's sharp voice. The vertically challenged man was seething as he glared at the blond. "Twenty laps now." The rest of the team smirked as their main midfielder pushed himself off the bench and grabbed a spare soccer ball. "Ah, don't think you're off the hook either, guys. Dakota, Frank get into the goal. Penalty shot drills, now!" He blew his whistle as everyone jogged to their positions.

"Ha, ha, let's all laugh at poor Captain Grace suffering alone." Jason murmured as he dribbled the black and white ball around the track. His already tired legs were screaming at him. His stomach growled in protest. He sighed, keeping his head down as he focused on the pace and not the pain in his legs and the gnawing hunger in his stomach.

"Hey Airhead!" Jason nearly tripped over the ball and looked up. Reyna stood over a waist-high chain fence, holding a brown paper bag. She waved it at him with a miffed expression as she shivered against the cold. Grinning, Jason ran towards her, ignoring Coach Hedge's shouts and hopped over the fence. He picked her up, spinning her around with a huge grin. "Put me down, you idiot." She cried, smacking his shoulder with a little laugh. Jason hugged her close, temporary forgetting about his hunger or fatigue.

"I love you." Jason said as he opened the bag and shoved a French fry in his mouth. Reyna sighed, rolled her dark eyes, and stole a fry, waving at the team with a knowing smile.

"Only because I feed you."

III

"What's going on? I can't see." Gwen murmured as she tried to see over the cheering crowd. Reyna stood beside her dressed in Jupiter High purple sweatshirt with a huge golden J imprinted on the front. Her dark hair had a golden strand weaved within her dark braid. Gwen shook a pair of purple and gold pom-poms as the huge cheer exploded from their section. A sharp whistle came from the field. "Is the game over? Did we win?" Reyna stood on her tiptoes, trying to catch a hint of the scoreboard.

"Yep, just barely though." Reyna replied as she watched her best friend get tackled by his teammates. "I think Jason scored the final goal." Jupiter High just won their state final and moving onto nationals. "Come on, let's go find Dakota." Reyna suggested as she grabbed her friend's hand. The two girls pushed through the crowd, squeezing between celebrating fans and fellow students. "Dakota!" Reyna shouted when they reached the barrier. Dakota waved enthusiastically as he tried to push through the fans to reach them. "Jason…" Reyna didn't shout his name, noticing he was occupied by a skimpy dressed redhead. "Looks like Jason found his rebound."

"What?" Gwen asked as she noticed the girl as well. "Nah, she's not his type."

"Jason has a type?" Reyna asked when a pair of arms wrapped around her and Gwen's shoulders. Dakota pulled them into a hug which they returned eagerly. "Dakota, great job blocking!" Reyna praised, focusing on her dark brown haired friend. Dakota kissed Gwen on the cheek as he released the girls.

"Thanks Rey but kind of got overshadowed by Mr. MVP over there." Dakota replied as he high-fived a few fans.

"Dakota, Reyna said Jason found a rebound for Piper. That girl is clearly not his type." Gwen said, nodding towards Jason.

"She's everyone's type." Reyna pointed out. The redhead was pretty with supermodel looks, generous hips and striking eyes. Her face could be on the cover of any fashion magazine as she pouted at Jason, twirling her glorious red locks. Dakota tilted his head, observing the girl as he tightened his hold on his girlfriend. The redhead was touching Jason's arm, licking her lips.

"I don't think so. Jason always had a thing for girls with braids."

"What?" Reyna asked when a pair of warm arms wrapped around her shoulders in a hug from behind. She tensed for half a second before recognizing his touch and unconsciously leaned in. "Jason, you're smelly."

"Hush." He teased, kissing her temple. Reyna turned in his arm, giving him an odd look. Jason smiled at her before leaning close to their noses brushed. "Just play along. This crazy girl won't leave me alone." Jason pouted, using his puppy-dog eyes. Reyna tried to stay stern but caved as she looked into his bright blue eyes. She wrapped her arms around his waist with a little pout and buried her face in the crook of his neck. "Thank you."

"You owe me." Reyna hissed back, looking over his shoulder to see the leggy redhead glaring at her. Reyna stood on her tiptoes, swiftly kissing Jason's check as she met the girl's sharp eyes. The redhead crossed her arms and pouted, most likely plotting Reyna's death. "You owe me big time. Like bags of jellybeans for a week." Jason laughed vibrations Reyna could feel through her body before pulling out of their hug. His arm still held her close as many people came over to congratulate the boys.

"I love you." Jason whispered into her ear as they smiled for another photo. Reyna smiled and hugged him closer because she wanted too.

IV

"Fix her." Jason blinked at the fork pointed in his face held by his girlfriend's intimating older sister. The seventeen year old casually reached up and slowly lowered the utensil. Hylla's dark eyes glared at him as he entered the Ramirez's modest home. "I don't know what you did but fix her."

"I didn't do anything." Jason replied as he wiped his shoes on their doormat. The blond looked up towards where he knew Reyna's bedroom was on the second floor. "Did she lock herself in her room again?" Jason asked as he gave Hylla a worried glance. Hylla sighed and crossed her arms, leaning against the stair rail before nodding her head.

"She's been like this for a while now. I haven't spoken to her for two days, Jason. I'm worried the pressure is slowly getting to her." Hylla confessed as she looked at Jason. Hylla and Jason's older sister, Thalia, are best friends. They were one of the main reasons why Jason and Reyna spent so much time together as kids. Hylla was like his older sister in a way. The tall blond walked over to her and placed his hand on top of hers. Her dark eyes met his. "Fix her please."

"I will." Jason promised as he kissed Hylla's cheek before jogging up the stairs. Ramirez's second floor had pictures of Hylla and Reyna in various stages of their lives. Jason paused for a second, looking at a photo of Reyna and him at age twelve. They were covered in dirt and glaring at each other. Jason couldn't exactly remember what happened, too many arguments in their lifetime together, but smiled regardless. It was a simpler time. Jason took the final steps towards her room and knocked. "Reyna, are you ok?" Silence greeted him. "Sweetie." His fingers brushed the doorknob before it opened. "Reyna."

"Don't call me sweetie." Reyna whispered as she looked at him. The girl before him was a ghost of her former self. With the end of their senior year fast approaching, so many decisions needed to be made. AP Exams were two weeks away. University confirmations needed to be sent. On top of the typical senior year woes, Reyna was one of the valedictorian candidates and needed to prepare a speech. There were dark lines underneath her obsidian eyes as she held the door open. She was dressed casually in short shorts and an oversized sweatshirt, his sweatshirt. It warmed his heart, seeing her in his things. "Hi."

"Hi. Are you going to let me in?" Jason asked, reaching into his backpack and pulling out a supersized bag of sweets. "I have your favorite." Reyna's lips curled into a tiny smile which didn't reach her dark eyes.

"You used to just barge into my room." Reyna reminded as she took the bag of jellybeans and turned around. Jason followed, looking at her familiar room. It changed over the years. The soft childish tones graduated to deep purples accented with hints of white and gold. Her queen-sized bed was pushed underneath her window overlooking the lake her family lived by. Reyna's bookshelves were full with various texts of different genres, photos of her friends and knickknacks. Jason recognized a wolf plushie he won for her on their first date. Everything was organized, everything but her desk. It looked like a tiny whirlwind blew in, shuffling her papers in disarray.

"Yeah, but you're my girlfriend now. That would be ungentlemanly." Jason expected a scoff from the girl but only silence greeted him. "Hylla begged me to come over and check on you." He continued, omitting the incident with the fork. He sat down on her bed, pulling out a bag of his own sweets. Usually, Reyna would scold him for eating on her bed, dragging him to the floor where they would devour their sweets and trading kisses. But right now, the drained girl sat on her desk chair, playing with the closed bag of colorful jellybeans. "Rey, talk to me." Jason pleaded as he sat on the edge of her bed. "I'm starting to worry. What's going on in that brilliant mind of yours?"

"Too much." Reyna whispered, looking at him with her deep eyes. All the stress from school to future decisions showed on those two onyx orbs. She looked uncertain which was nothing like the Reyna everyone knew. "I don't know anymore, Jason. There so much to do and so many decisions to make. How can I decide where I want to spend my next four years? Or my major? And what am I supposed to say in front of everyone? I'll probably look stupid or something. And exams! I just… it's too much. I…" Jason grabbed the end of her rolling chair and pulled her towards him. She melted into his embrace and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Shhs, it's ok. I'm scared as well." Jason whispered into her ear, running his fingers through her loose locks. "I really hate your defense mechanism. Don't shut everyone out. You know you can talk to me." Reyna pulled back, pushing her hands against his chest.

"For how long?" He looked down at her, hating the pessimism in her voice. Her fingers curled around the soft fabric of his t-shirt as she spoke. "I mean, listen. I don't even know if we're going to the same university, Jason." He bit his inner cheek, resisting the urge to snap at her. She made him promise to not tell her where he wanted to go. They didn't want to sway each others' decision just because they were dating. Jason didn't like it but honored her choice. "And if we don't, do we try a long-distance relationship? You know what everyone says about long-distance. You've tried. You've tried with Piper and it didn't work. I – "

"You're not Piper." Jason tipped her chin up, looking in her watery eyes. He could see she was trying so hard not to cry. "You know that wasn't the reason why I broke up with Piper. It was a factor yes but there was more. I love Piper but not like that. It was always you. You, my greatest rival, my best friend, my favorite girl. You were always the one even when I was halfway across the country. I screwed up, not calling and telling you when I moved. I nearly lose you, Reyna and that scared me. I can't promise you things won't change. They will, it's all a part of growing up but I can promise you, I will do everything in my power to stay with you." He took her hands and moved it over his chest where his heart was pounding. "You're in here, in my heart, and you're not going anywhere. I love you, Reyna."

I

A huge applause erupted after Reyna finished her speech. The seventeen year old smiled as she could see bobby cheering from his spot, waving his purple cap. Dakota whistled proudly as Gwen clapped her hands. Reyna smiled at the sea of familiar faces, feeling the pang of sadness in her heart. Four long short years with these amazing people had finally come to an end. She mouthed 'thank you' to the roaring crowd before walking to the rows of chairs on the stage. Lupa gave her a quick hug before she sat beside her boyfriend. Jason's hand reached for her, lacing their fingers together. He playfully tipped her cap forward, blocking her view. "You did perfect." Reyna saw his lips move, tiny scar curling up.

"You're supposed to say that. You're my boyfriend." Reyna whispered back as the cheering finally died down. Principal Lupa stood there, starting her speech to introduce Jason. Reyna fixed her cap and touched his cheek. "Thank you anyways."

"I lov – " Jason's words were cut off as Reyna grabbed the back of his neck, pulling him towards her. The cheers from their classmates faded away as Jason closed his wide eyes, completely consumed in Reyna's kiss. It was sweet from the jellybeans they ate before and intoxicating. Reyna made a soft noise as her fingers thread into his golden locks, pushing his purple cap off. Jason cupped her face, tilting her mouth towards him. Reyna pulled away gradually, smoothing her hands over the front of his gown. Their noses brushed and Jason resisted the urge to pull her back. Wolf whistles from the crowd followed by laughter reminded Jason where they were. "What was that for?"

"I want to say it first for once." Reyna murmured, touching his cheek with tenderness. "I love your stupid scar, your quirky smile and your idiotic personality. I love how you're the first thing I think of when I wake up and the last thought in my mind before falling asleep. I love this giddy feeling I get when you're around and how you can calm me down with just a touch. I love you, Jas – mphf."

Jason pulled her into another kiss as another huge cheer erupted from their classmates, drowning out Lupa's shout. His lips slanted over hers, needing to taste her. Their knees bumped as he tried to wrap his arms around her waist to drag her towards him. There was too much space and not enough Reyna. Jason let out a frustrated growl as he leaned back. His bright blue eyes darkened with desire. Their breaths mingled as Jason tried to reel in his craving. Reyna's fingers cupped his face as they breathed. In the back of his mind, Jason could hear Lupa calling him.

"Now how am I supposed to do a speech now?" Jason asked in a husky voice. Reyna's bruised lips curled into a smirk as she kissed his nose. Her dark eyes were teasing and alluring. She purposely licked her lips, drawing Jason's eyes towards them.

"Make it short and sweet." She whispered gently pushing him towards the podium. Jason, for once, was glad the gowns were loose to hide his excitement. He tipped his hat towards Lupa before standing at the podium to address his peers.

"Sorry about that. My girlfriend just told me she loves me."


End file.
